Method, apparatus and system for management of information content for enhanced accessibility over wireless communication networks

ABSTRACT

Information content is managed in a network-based communication system by providing a first web-based interface accessible to a first user, the first web-based interface being configured to permit the first user to designate at least one data source that is external to the first web-based interface, maintaining persistent information content on behalf of the first user including content obtained from the data source designated by the first user, and generating a second web-based interface different than the first web-based interface, wherein access to at least a portion of the persistent information content is provided to each of one or more additional users via the second web-based interface in a manner controlled by the first user via the first web-based interface to thereby facilitate interaction between the first and additional users. The first and second web-based interfaces may comprise respective content management and mobile web sites.

RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application is continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/027,519 filed Feb. 15, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/548,928 filed Aug. 27, 2009 and nowissued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,908,342, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/464,526 filed Jun. 18, 2003 and nowissued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,599,983, which claims the priority of U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/389,430 filed Jun. 18, 2002, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to network-based communicationsystems, and more particularly to techniques for information contentmanagement in such systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One of the most rapidly expanding aspects of wireless networkinginvolves the accessing of information content over wireless networks viaweb-enabled mobile devices. Examples of such devices include mobiletelephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), palmtop computers, etc.As is well-known, these and other web-enabled devices not only provideaccess to the Internet, but can also be used to support other types ofwireless networking functionality, such as messaging, distributedcollaboration, and location-based services.

An important challenge in this context relates to facilitating theprocess of creating, publishing, distributing or otherwise managinginformation content so as to provide optimal presentation consistentwith the limited display space and navigational capabilities of typicalmobile devices. Many users, for example, may wish to make specificpersonalized information content available via mobile devices to theirfriends, colleagues, subscribers or other entities. However,conventional techniques have been unable to meet this need in asatisfactory manner. By way of example, conventional techniques such asweb site authoring tools and web logging (“blogging”) are not optimizedfor use in the generation of information content for shared access viamobile devices.

These and other conventional techniques suffer from a number ofsignificant drawbacks, including a failure to provide suitableintegration of messaging, collaboration, location-based services orother wireless networking functionality with the generation of sharedinformation content. As a result, it is generally not possible fordifferent mobile device users to link to and take further action on apersistent version of a given set of shared information content. Theconventional techniques thus fail to provide a mechanism thatfacilitates uniform, action-driven content access and associated userinteraction via wireless networks. Also, such techniques generallyrequire a significant amount of programming knowledge for their properuse, and are therefore not suitable for relatively unsophisticatedusers.

Accordingly, a need exists for improved techniques for managinginformation content in a manner that overcomes one or more of thedrawbacks of the conventional techniques described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention in an illustrative embodiment thereof providestechniques for efficient generation and management of mobile sites thatare advantageously integrated with wireless networking functionality ofa wireless network in a network-based communication system.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, information content ismanaged in a network-based communication system by providing a firstweb-based interface accessible to a first user, the first web-basedinterface being configured to permit the first user to designate atleast one data source that is external to the first web-based interface,maintaining persistent information content on behalf of the first userincluding content obtained from the data source designated by the firstuser, and generating a second web-based interface different than thefirst web-based interface, wherein access to at least a portion of thepersistent information content is provided to each of one or moreadditional users via the second web-based interface in a mannercontrolled by the first user via the first web-based interface tothereby facilitate interaction between the first and additional users.

The first and second web-based interfaces may comprise respectivecontent management and mobile web sites.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, information contentis managed in a network-based communication system by configuring afirst web-based interface to permit a first user to designate one ormore additional users that will share access to content with the firstuser via a second web-based interface, in accordance with accessibilityrules established by the first user via the first web-based interface.The one or more additional users may be individuals that with the firstuser and by mutual consent collectively comprise a group of friends orother members sharing a common interest. The users in that group,relative to users not in the group, may be provided with exclusiveaccess to the content via the second web-based interface.

The first web-based interface may be configured, by way of example, topermit the first user to control the sending of a communication to atleast a given one of said one or more additional users indicating thatthe first user is proposing to share access to content with the givenadditional user. The communication may comprise an email message thatprovides the given additional user with an option of accepting ordeclining the access sharing proposal from the first user.

As another example, the first web-based interface may be configured topermit the first user to upload at least one information item, and thesecond web-based interface may be configured to provide the one or moreadditional users with access to that uploaded information item inaccordance with the accessibility rules established by the first user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an example network-based communicationsystem configured in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram showing one possible implementation of agiven processing element in the system of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1C shows a block diagram of one possible arrangement of systemelements associated with the system of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1D shows a schematic diagram of home page of a content managementsite in the system of FIG. 1A.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show additional schematic diagrams of site pagesassociated with a content management site in the system of FIG. 1A.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show schematic diagrams of site pages associated with amobile site in the system of FIG. 1A.

FIGS. 6 through 17 are screenshots of illustrative site pages associatedwith a content management site in the system of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 18 shows an example mobile device suitable for use in the system ofFIG. 1A.

FIG. 19 is an exemplary operational flow diagram of a registrationprocess in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 20 is an exemplary operational flow diagram of a login process inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 21 is an exemplary operational flow diagram of a mobile sitecreation process in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 22 is an exemplary operational flow diagram of a mobile sitecontent authoring process in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 23 is an exemplary operational flow diagram of a directory processin accordance with the invention.

FIGS. 24 and 25 show typical illustrative examples of mobile sitescreens generated at a mobile device in the system of FIG. 1A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will be illustrated herein in the context of anexemplary network-based communication system and associated systemelements and processes. It is to be appreciated, however, that theparticular arrangements shown and described herein are presented by wayof illustrative example only, and should therefore not be construed aslimiting the scope of the present invention to any particular embodimentor group of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe described techniques are more generally applicable to any wirelesscommunication application in which it is desirable to provide improvedintegration of information content management with wireless networkfunctionality.

FIG. 1A shows an example network-based communication system 10configured in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of theinvention. The system 10 includes a wireless network 12 coupled to theInternet 14, a set of mobile devices 15, a set of servers 16 and a setof user terminals 18. More specifically, mobile devices 15-1, . . . 15-nare coupled to the wireless network 12, while servers 16-1, . . . 16-kand user terminals 18-1, . . . 18-r are coupled to the Internet 14. Thenumbers n, k, and r are purely arbitrary, provided for simplicity andclarity of illustration only, and in a given implementation of thisillustrative embodiment can take on any desired value. Also, alternativeembodiments of the invention need not include the particular systemelements shown, and may include other elements of a type andconfiguration known to those skilled in the art, in place of or inaddition to the particular elements shown.

The mobile devices 15 and user terminals 18 may be more generallyreferred to herein as user devices.

The term “user” is intended to include, without limitation, anindividual, a group of individuals, a business, an organization, or anyother entity capable of deriving benefit from use of at least a portionof the system 10. Actions described herein as being performed by orotherwise associated with a user may be performed by or otherwiseassociated with an individual or other entity, a corresponding device,or both the entity and the device.

The network configuration of system 10 illustratively comprises wirelessnetwork 12 and Internet 14. However, the invention does not require thisparticular network arrangement. A network suitable for use with theinvention may include any type of data communication network, includingthe Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a wide area network (WAN), ametropolitan area network (MAN), a wired local area network (LAN), anIEEE 802.11 or Wi-Fi wireless LAN, a satellite communications network, avirtual private network (VPN), a public switched telephone network(PSTN), a cellular network based on third generation (3G) wideband codedivision multiple access (CDMA) or other standard, as well as portionsor combinations of these and other networks.

It is also to be appreciated that the invention is not limited withregard to the particular communication protocols that may be utilized incommunicating information within the system 10 of FIG. 1A. Examples ofcommunication protocols utilizable in conjunction with the inventioninclude Internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP),user datagram protocol (UDP), real-time protocol (RTP), short messageservice (SMS), multimedia message service (MMS), wireless applicationprotocol (WAP), session initiation protocol (SIP), etc.

The mobile devices 15 can collectively comprise a wide variety ofdifferent devices configurable for communication over the network 12.The term “mobile device” as used herein is intended to include, withoutlimitation, any type of portable information processing device capableof being configured for communication over a network. Examples of mobiledevices 15 utilizable in system 10 of FIG. 1A include a mobiletelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a palmtop computer, ahand-held computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver or other GPS-based navigationaldevice, an MP3 player or other type of audio player, a pager, a watch orother timepiece, a camera, a portable game player, etc.

The servers 16 may comprise, by way of example, network computers orother types of computers or processing elements capable of beingconfigured for the maintenance, storage, delivery or other processing ofinformation received or deliverable over the Internet or other type ofnetwork.

Although not specifically denoted as such in the figure, one or more ofthe user terminals 18 may each comprise a mobile device. Also, a givenone of the user terminals 18 may comprise a non-mobile device,including, by way of example, a desktop personal computer, aworkstation, a minicomputer, a mainframe computer, a television, aset-top box, a kiosk, etc.

FIG. 1B shows one possible implementation of an information processingelement 20 of the system 10. The processing element 20 may be viewed asbeing representative of a given one of the mobile devices 15, a givenone of the servers 16, or a given one of the user terminals 18. Theprocessing element 20 in this implementation includes a processor 22, amemory 24, and a network interface 25, which communicate with oneanother over a set of bus lines 26. The processor 22 may comprise, forexample, a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a computer, or any othertype of digital data processing device, as well as portions orcombinations of such devices. The memory 24 may comprise electronicmemory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM),disk-based memory, or any other type of storage device, as well asportions or combinations of such devices. The network interface 25provides an interface for the processing element 20 to the wirelessnetwork 12 or Internet 14.

The memory 24 of processing element 20 stores one or more softwareprograms which are executed by the processor 22 in providing at least aportion of the system functionality described herein as being associatedwith the corresponding mobile device, server or user terminal. Oneskilled in the art would understand that memory 24 is an example of acomputer-readable storage medium.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the system 10 in theillustrative embodiment provides at least one content management siteaccessible to a system user. The user may be a user associated with oneof the mobile devices 15, or any other system user. The contentmanagement site may be supported by one or more of the servers 16, andmay be accessed by the user over Internet 14 via one of the userterminals 18. The content management site permits the user to enterinformation in accordance with a specified format comprising a pluralityof selectable mobile information channels each corresponding to aninformation category. The mobile information channels are also referredto as “M-channels” herein, and will be described in greater detailbelow. The entered information is processed to generate a mobile website comprising information content that is accessible via one or moreof the mobile devices 15 over the wireless network 12 of the system 10.The information content of the mobile site is preferably configured suchthat a persistent version thereof is accessible via the one or moremobile devices 15 over the wireless network 12.

The content management site can also be accessed via one of the mobiledevices 15, and used to create a mobile site also accessible via thatmobile device and one or more other mobile devices.

The system 10 can support any desired number of content management sitesand any desired number of mobile sites that are generated and managedvia the content management sites. For example, a given contentmanagement site can be associated with a particular business or otherentity, and can be used to generate a plurality of mobile sites forvarious users associated with that business or other entity. An operatorof the content management site can offer mobile site building and othercontent management services to such entities for a fee. The operator mayalso provide customization services, so that a given entity can createmobile sites that bear corresponding corporate trademarks, logos orother symbols, or that are customized in other ways.

In the illustrative embodiment, the content management sites and themobile sites may each be implemented as a corresponding web siteaccessible over the Internet 14, although this is not a requirement ofthe invention. Other embodiments may implement one or more of thecontent management sites or one or more of the mobile sites as intranetsites, extranet sites or other information sources accessible via theseor other types of networks.

Advantageously, the information content of a given mobile site generatedin the system 10 may be configured so as to integrate therewithinformation associated with at least one wireless networkingfunctionality of the wireless network 12. This information may bedeterminable based at least in part on one or more parameters associatedwith the above-noted mobile information channels or M-channels. Examplesof such information include information specifying at least onemessaging action implementable over the wireless network, informationspecifying at least one collaboration action implementable over thewireless network, and information specifying at least one location-basedservice action implementable over the wireless network. Other types ofinformation associated with wireless networking functionalities may alsoor alternatively be used.

Accessibility to a given mobile site may be controlled so as to permitone or more third parties to view at least a portion of the mobile sitewithout any such parties being registered users of the contentmanagement or mobile site portions of the system.

A given content management site may be provided, for example, by aservice provider or other entity operating the wireless network 12, anda user thereof may be a subscriber of that entity. More particularly,the content management site may include identifying informationindicating association of the site with the entity operating thewireless network, and may be made accessible only to subscribers of thewireless network.

As another example, a given content management site used for generationand management of a mobile site may be provided to the user contingentupon purchase of specified goods or services associated with thewireless network 12.

Numerous other content management site configurations may be used inimplementing the invention.

A given mobile site in accordance with the invention can be generatedfor a group comprising multiple members having a common interest. Forexample, a mobile site may be generated for a family, a group offriends, a club, a sports team, a business, a sales force, a civicgroup, a fan group, a political party, a campaign, a charity, or anyother type of multi-member organization. Such a site may be used forefficient dissemination of relevant information to group members via thewireless network 12. For example, the site can be used to generatemessages, using instant messaging (IM), SMS, MMS, pages, emails,voice-over-IP (VoIP) calls, cellular telephone calls, or any othersuitable messaging format, that are sent to organization members overthe wireless network. Such a message from a given member of theorganization can direct other members to access the mobile site toobtain additional information regarding events, news, cancellations,reschedulings, updates, polls, special requests, etc. Organizationmembers can easily and efficiently post information and generatemessages to other members so as to facilitate collaboration and othertypes of interaction.

A given mobile site, also by way of example, may be associated with anevent, and information identifying the event and its associated mobilesite may be transmitted via the wireless network 12 to mobile devices ofone or more users that are determined to be likely to have an interestin the subject matter of the event. The event may be a movie, a concert,a sporting event, a political rally, a contest, a promotion, particulargoods or services being offered for sale by a vendor at certain pricesor on certain conditions, etc. Such interested users may be determined,for example, by comparing generalized demographic data associated withthe event with personal demographic data previously stored for thesystem users, or utilizing other marketing data based techniques. Amobile site of this type is especially useful for implementing follow-upmarketing actions, user registration, etc.

As another example, a given mobile site may be associated with aparticular geographic location. More specifically, the given mobile sitemay be generated for a “waypoint” specified by particular latitude andlongitude coordinates representing a geographic location utilized in theactivity of geocaching, or other location-based activity. In generatingsuch a mobile site utilizing the techniques of the invention, a usercould enter information such as a title, a location specified bylatitude, longitude, elevation, or other location-identifyinginformation, a difficulty level, a terrain quality, one or more hints, amap, or other types of information. Along with typical items found in aconventional geocache, such as trinkets and a log, a password could beincluded that provides access to a corresponding mobile site which canbe utilized by other users to validate that they have found thegeocache. Contests or promotions could also be organized to providespecified rewards to a first user to reach a given geocache. The firstuser to reach the geocache can be identified by determining the firstuser to log into the geocache mobile site using the appropriatepassword. Visitors to the mobile site may be provided with an ability toleave a note or other message describing aspects of their journey, whatitems they took from the geocache, what items they placed in thegeocache, etc. Mobile sites corresponding to geocaches may be searchedfor by zip code, state, country, keyword, waypoints, GPS coordinates,etc. A mobile device with built-in GPS capability may be used tofacilitate interaction with mobile sites corresponding to geocaches orother geographic locations. Mobile sites corresponding to these andother geographic locations can be accessed, for instance, using aGPS-based automotive navigation device, or other types of user devices.

As an additional example, a given mobile site may be associated with agame. More specifically, a mobile site may be generated for a game andaccessed from a web-enabled gaming device or other type of user device.The mobile site could provide information such as tips, tricks, playerprofiles, and player locations, and could also be used to supportcollaboration or other types of communication between players. Playersmay also be permitted to access the mobile site from non-gaming userdevices, to participate in game-related activities that could lead toincreasing their health points, skill level, number of lives, hitpoints, magic level, equipment, apparatus, gear, etc.

As a further example, a given mobile site may be associated with a userof IM, SMS, MMS, email or other type of messaging service. Morespecifically, a mobile site may be generated for a particular user sothat other users exchanging messages with the particular user areprovided with access to persistent information content that facilitatestheir interaction with the particular user. Such an arrangement isparticularly useful as the volume of wireless “spam” is continuallyincreasing and users require an “island in the storm” at which they caninteract in a controlled, private collaborative workspace. Additionally,when a user accesses an email or other type of message using a mobiledevice, that user can be directed to a mobile site for follow-upmarketing actions or other activities.

As another example, a given mobile site may be associated with atelevision program, movie, music artist or other entertainment-relatedentity. More specifically, a mobile site may be generated for abroadcast program and accessed by a user from a set-top box while theuser is watching that program. Interaction activities involving providedcontent could then take place between viewers, the network, andadvertisers.

As yet another example, a given mobile site may be associated with aparticular product via product name, bar code, radio frequencyidentification (RFID), or other type of product-identifying information.Such a mobile site could be configured to provide, for its associatedproduct, additional information of interest to product users, customerservice access, ordering or purchase support, etc.

Of course, the foregoing are merely examples of mobile sites that may begenerated and managed using the techniques of the invention. Numerousother types of mobile sites may be used in implementing the presentinvention.

The term “mobile site” as used herein is intended to include, withoutlimitation, a web site, a collaborative workspace, a data mailbox, acollaborative community, an Internet storefront, one or more M-channelsand/or an associated data set, or other similar element(s), as well asportions or combinations thereof.

The above-noted M-channels will now be described in greater detail. Asmentioned previously, M-channels are utilized at the content managementsite of the illustrative embodiment to facilitate the generation ofmobile sites and the management of associated content. Morespecifically, the M-channels allow unsophisticated users to easily andefficiently author message data or other types of information content tobe made accessible via a collaborative workspace, a data mailbox, acollaborative community, or other type of mobile site or portion thereofgenerated or otherwise managed in the system 10. Features such as task,action, event, location, delivery or collaborative enabling of specifiedM-channel content may be specified along with access methods, automaticgeneration of wirelessly accessible navigation menus, contentpresentation views, etc.

The particular configuration of the M-channels, and the contentintegration options associated therewith, may vary from implementationto implementation depending upon factors such as the particular wirelessnetworking functionalities available in the system.

Examples of M-channels suitable for use in the illustrative embodimentinclude channels denoted herein as mobile ID/business card (alsoreferred to as a “contact” M-channel), announcements, chat, events,guest book, diary/journal, bookmarks/links, discussion forum,survey/poll, newsletter/zine, notes, email, address book,contribute/donate, mobile volunteer management, company directory,in/out board, field reports, feedback, form builder, live data/in-outsyndication, mobile document library, products catalog/shopping cart,services catalog/shopping cart, appointments, task list/assignments,promotions, offers, coupons, sweepstakes, contests, photo blog, etc.Numerous other information categories may be represented bycorresponding mobile information channels at a content management sitein accordance with the invention.

The notation “/” as used herein should be understood to refer to“and/or” unless otherwise indicated.

Additional details regarding the operation of exemplary M-channels inaccordance with the invention will be described below in conjunctionwith certain of the site pages of FIGS. 2 through 17, as well as inconjunction with the operational flow diagrams of FIGS. 21 and 22.

As indicated previously, the content management aspects of the system 10can be implemented at least in part utilizing software associated withprocessing elements of the system. A more particular example of onepossible arrangement of such elements will now be described inconjunction with FIG. 1C. Of course, this is simply one possiblearrangement, and a wide variety of other arrangements suitable forimplementing the techniques of the invention will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 1C, a set of processing elements 30 in the system10 includes a plurality of “suites,” each suite comprising a particulararrangement of hardware, software and/or firmware elements implementedusing one or more of the mobile devices 15, servers 16 and userterminals 18 of the system 10. More specifically, the set of processingelements 30 comprises a display suite 32 associated with a displayserver 33, a management and processing suite 34 associated with aninteraction server 35, a data integration suite 36 associated with adata integration server 37, and a services integration suite 38associated with a services integration server 39. Each of the servers33, 35, 37 and 39 may comprise one or more of the servers 16 or otherelements shown in FIG. 1A, or suitable portions or combinations thereof.

Communications between the suites 32, 34, 36 and 38 may be carried outusing conventional connections established over wireless network 12 orInternet 14, or using other communication channels or transport media ofa type known in the art.

In the display suite 32, a number of example user devices, includingmobile phone 40, smart phone 41, pocket PC 42, Palm device 43, iModephone 44, personal computer 45, set-top box 46, game and/or camera 47and other wireless devices 48, interact with the display server 33. Thedisplay server 33 interacts with elements of one or more of the othersuites in controlling the presentation of particular screens on thevarious user devices. Certain of the user devices in suite 32 may beviewed as representative examples of mobile devices 15, while others maybe viewed as representative examples of user terminals 18.

The management and processing suite 34 includes a management andM-channel engine 50, a personalization and rules engine 51, an authoringand publishing engine 52, a presentation engine 53, and a distribution,delivery and service engine 54. The interaction server 35 controls theinterface between these engines and the display server 33 of the displaysuite 32. The management and processing suite 34 in this exampleprovides the above-noted content management site(s) utilized to generateand otherwise manage mobile sites in accordance with the techniques ofthe invention.

The data integration suite 36 includes extensible markup language (XML)and/or rich site summary (RSS) feeds 60, database and/or file 61,syndication services 62, device-captured data 63, web services 64, andother data sources 65. The data integration server 37 controls theinterface between these data sources and the interaction server 35 ofthe management and processing suite 34.

Other XML-related protocols that may be utilized in conjunction with theinvention include, for example, remote procedure call (RPC), outlineprocessor markup language (OPML), and simple object access protocol(SOAP).

The services integration suite 38 includes an MMS center 70, an SMScenter 71, email systems 72, billing systems 73, voice systems 74, andother systems 75, each of which may be viewed as representative of aparticular type of wireless networking functionality accessible to themobile devices 15 via the wireless network 12. The services integrationserver 39 controls the integration of information associated with thesewireless networking functionalities with the content of the mobile sitegenerated via the content management site.

FIG. 1D shows a home page of an example content management site in theillustrative embodiment of the invention. The example content managementsite in the context of the illustrative embodiment comprises an Internetweb site used to generate and otherwise manage mobile sites. A given oneof the mobile sites may be referred to herein as a “Winksite,” where“Wink” may be viewed generally as a shortened form of the term “wirelessink,” reflecting the wireless content management aspects of theinvention.

It is to be appreciated that certain aspects of the content managementsite may be made accessible via one or more of the mobile sites andvice-versa. The notation “Winksite” may therefore also be used to denotea content management site or portion thereof, or a hybrid sitecomprising aspects of both a content management site and one or moremobile sites.

Additional schematic diagrams of web pages associated with the examplecontent management site or a corresponding mobile site will be describedin conjunction with FIGS. 2 through 5. Related screenshots of the webpages associated with the content management site will be described withreference to FIGS. 6 through 17. It should again be emphasized, however,that the arrangements shown are presented by way of illustrativeexample, and should therefore not be construed as limiting the scope ofthe invention in any way.

The content management site may be viewed as being part of a mobilecommunications publishing platform provided by the system 10 of FIG. 1A.This platform integrates aspects of wireless network functionality withmobile site content generation, thereby facilitating user interactionvia the mobile devices 15. The content management site in theillustrative embodiment is designed to generate and otherwise managedynamic, time-sensitive, task-oriented mobile sites, including wirelesscollaborative workspaces and communities. The content management siteallows content such as data, media, multimedia, messages, news,features, events, polls, competitions and advertising to be rapidlycreated, entered into the system, and then subsequently syndicated,distributed, shared, collaborated with or acted upon by users of mobiledevices.

By utilizing the content management site, system users can create one ormore personal or business mobile sites with various sets of features,and then share such sites via the mobile Internet or other wirelessnetwork with friends, family, colleagues, or other groups of any type.The content management site makes it simple for unsophisticated users toupload, enter, create, syndicate, distribute or otherwise manage contentthat is important to them, in a manner that allows such content to beaccessed, shared, and acted upon from a mobile device.

Referring now to FIG. 1D, a home page 100 of the content management siteprovides a user interface comprising a series of display regions denotedby blocks 102 through 142, each associated with a correspondinguser-activatable control mechanism. These control mechanisms may beimplemented as a plurality of hypertext links, each of which, whenactivated, instantiates a subordinate user interface comprising one ormore other pages of data associated with the content management site.The home page 100 and other pages referred to herein may be configuredusing hypertext markup language (HTML), XML, or other any suitable webpage formatting language, as well as combinations of such languages.

Access to the home page 100 may be provided to all system users,regardless of whether or not those users have previously registered withthe system. A given user accesses the home page 100 by entering acorresponding uniform resource locator (URL) in a web browser of theirassociated user device. Although not specifically shown in the figure,introductory, instructional or other explanatory text, as well asgraphics and various forms of advertising, including so-calledclick-through or banner advertising, may be included on the home page100.

A registration process is preferably provided in order to allow users toestablish an account with the system. Such a process can be initiated byactivation of the hyperlink associated with block 104.Previously-registered users can login to their accounts by activatingthe hyperlink associated with block 102. Details of the registration andlogin processes associated with respective blocks 104 and 102 will bedescribed below in conjunction with the respective flow diagrams ofFIGS. 19 and 20.

Access to certain system features associated with certain blocks, suchas blocks 108 through 124, may be limited to registered users.Registered users may also be referred to herein as “members.”

The text and graphics of the home page 100, although initially the samefor both registered and unregistered users, may be periodically updatedor otherwise customized to display account information or otherinformation that is unique to a registered user, upon login of such auser.

Block 106 in FIG. 1D represents a display region containing a link to anoptional logoff process. The logoff process enables a registered userwho has previously logged in to activate a control so as to redirect hisor her browser to the non-customized version of home page 100. Thisfeature is useful, for example, in a situation in which multiple usersshare the same personal computer or other terminal. More specifically, agiven registered user who has logged in may, without turning off thecomputer or closing its Internet connection, and even without closingthe browser or pointing it to another URL, conceal and prevent furtheraccess to his or her account information while also enabling anotherregistered or unregistered user to access the home page 100.

FIG. 2 shows a start page 200 of the example content management site inthe illustrative embodiment of the invention. The start page 200provides a user interface comprising a series of display regions denotedby blocks 202 through 242, each associated with a correspondinguser-activatable hypertext link or other control mechanism. The startpage 200 may be accessed, for example, by activating the link associatedwith block 108 of FIG. 1D.

FIG. 3 shows a main menu page 300 of the example content management sitein the illustrative embodiment of the invention. The main menu page 300provides a user interface comprising a series of display regions denotedby blocks 302 through 344, each associated with a correspondinguser-activatable hypertext link or other control mechanism. The mainmenu page 300 may be accessed, for example, by activating the linkassociated with block 222 of FIG. 2.

An example of a preference feature that may be made available only toregistered users is an address book feature. This feature can beaccessed by activating the link associated with block 320 in FIG. 3.Such a feature allows the names, email addresses, mobile telephonenumbers and other contact information of potential message recipients tobe recorded and then easily selected when a message is to be sent.

A given registered user may be permitted to elect to share his or heraddress book information, or other types of user information, with otherusers. Such sharing can be implemented by activating a link (not shown)to a page where the user may provide identifying information about theother individual(s) with whom he or she proposes to share information.The site software may be configured such that, if any of the otherindividuals are registered users, an email message is sent to thoseindividuals. The email message may contain a link to the URL of a pageat which the individuals will be given the option of accepting ordeclining the information sharing proposal.

If any of the other individuals are not registered users, then anattempt may be made to obtain an email address for each of those othernon-registered users. For any such non-registered users for which anemail address is obtained, an email message may be sent containing alink, along with appropriate explanatory text, to the site registrationprocess to be described in conjunction with FIG. 19. After completingthe registration process, the individual will be given the option ofaccepting or declining the information sharing proposal.

A given registered user may also be permitted to designate one or moreother users selected, for example, from among those listed in adirectory or contact list, with whom the given user would like tointeract. Any such other users may be notified in the manner indicatedabove and provided with an opportunity to accept or deny the proposedinteraction.

Another preference feature that may be provided to registered users isan ability to designate one or more of the mobile sites available in thedirectory of the content management site as “favorite” mobile sites.This can substantially reduce the number of screens or pages that needbe reviewed in order to select a particular mobile site to visit.However, it should be understood that registered users who havedesignated certain mobile sites as favorite mobile sites are notthereafter limited to making their selections only from among thosefavorites. Each such user may still choose to review and select from allof the available mobile sites within the directory.

Yet another preference feature that may be made available to registeredusers is an ability to post one or more messages on a “communitybulletin board” that is accessible to both registered and non-registeredusers. This feature allows non-registered users to become aware of themessages posted by registered users, thereby encouraging furtherregistrations and increasing use of the site.

Registered users may also be permitted to track the activity of theirassociated mobile sites by creating, selecting or otherwise designatingan avatar whose health, personality, responses, behavior or othercharacteristics reflects in some manner the level of activity associatedwith the sites. Such an avatar may be used to provide an “at a glance”representation of the popularity, usage, traffic patterns or othercharacteristic(s) of a corresponding mobile site.

It is also possible to provide different levels of service for differentregistered users. For example, certain registered users may be permittedto elect to upgrade their registration to one or more “preferred” levelsof service. The various levels of service may be designated usingdifferent colors or other sets of designations, such as “copper,”“silver,” “gold” and “platinum,” or “individual,” “individual plus,”“business” and “business plus.” As their registration level increases,the corresponding registered users will receive additional benefits,such as increased storage space, bandwidth or publishing features andoptions.

A variety of other techniques may be used to encourage userregistration. For example, demographic data or other types of marketingdata may be used to identify particular groups likely to benefit fromregistration, and particular mobile sites can be pre-created and madeavailable to such groups on a trial basis, upon registration, or uponsatisfaction of other conditions. The mobile site addresses for all ofthe members of each group will preferably reflect in some common way oneor more unique characteristics of the group.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, these figures show a mobile site home(M-home) page 400 and a Winksite page 500, respectively, of an examplemobile site in the illustrative embodiment of the invention. The pages400 and 500 provide user interfaces comprising series of display regionsdenoted by blocks 402 through 432, and 502 through 544, respectively,with each of the blocks being associated with a correspondinguser-activatable hypertext link or other control mechanism. The mobilesite home page 400 may be accessed, for example, by entering acorresponding URL of the mobile site into a browser at one of the mobiledevices 15. The Winksite page 500 may be accessed, for example, byactivating the link associated with block 402 of FIG. 4 and completingan associated login process.

As noted above, FIGS. 6 through 17 are screenshots of illustrative sitepages associated with a content management site in the system of FIG.1A. These screenshots will now be described in greater detail.

With reference to FIG. 6, an example of a home page of the contentmanagement site is shown. This home page screenshot may be viewed ascorresponding generally to the home page 100 schematically shown in FIG.1D. The home page in this example includes, among other elements,elements 602 through 658 arranged as shown. A web site logo 602 can beincluded, along with site branding and promotional copy 638, associatedwith an entity providing the content management site. A login sectionincludes fields 604 and 606 for entering respective user name andpassword information, along with a “Start in” selector 608 and a loginbutton 610. The home page further includes links 612, 614, 618, 622,624, 630, 632, 634, 636, 646, 648, 650, 652, 654, 656, 658 and 660,banner advertisements 620, explanatory text 640, a feedback entry field642, and a user information submission field 644.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a start page of the content management site.This start page screenshot may be viewed as corresponding generally tothe start page 200 schematically shown in FIG. 2. The start page in thisexample includes, among other elements, a logout link 700, user accountinformation 702, account settings links 704, information 706 specifyingthe mobile sites associated with that user, and a link 708 allowing theuser to build a new mobile site.

A given registered user, after initial registration, may access his orher registration information directly, on an as-needed basis, in orderto make changes therein as appropriate. For example, a registered usermay wish to change his or her password or username, or to provideupdated address or contact information. The account information link inthe set of account setting links 704 instantiates a subordinate userinterface comprising a site page that may be configured as shown in FIG.14. Other links in the set of account setting links 704 similarlyprovide access to pages allowing entry or revision of informationassociated with a user M-card, profile, interests, offers, etc.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a main menu page of the content managementsite for managing a given mobile site associated with a system user.This main menu page screenshot may be viewed as corresponding generallyto the main menu page 300 schematically shown in FIG. 3. The main menupage in this example includes information 802 identifying user accountinformation and the particular mobile sites associated with that user,page navigational links 804, mobile site information 806 associated witha selected one of the mobile sites associated with the user, M-channelinformation 808, and a delete site field 810.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show example M-channel pages of the content managementsite. These pages correspond generally to particular ones of theM-channels identified in M-channel information 808 of a selected mobilesite in FIG. 8.

With reference initially to FIG. 9A, the page as shown corresponds to anM-channel for which the user has not yet entered any content. The pageincludes a button 900 which permits a user to add an item of content tothe M-channel, and explanatory text 902 which indicates that the usercurrently has no content in the channel, and describes the manner inwhich the user can add content items to the channel.

FIG. 9B shows a page for which the user has added an item of content.The page includes information 904 specifying, among other things, thetitle or name of the content item, the date and time of its posting tothe site, and its status. If the item has a “published” status, thecorresponding content is visible to users visiting the associated mobilesite. If the item has an “unpublished” status, the corresponding contentis not visible to users visiting the associated mobile site.

FIG. 10 shows an example page for use in adding content to a given oneof the M-channels. This page may be accessed, for example, uponactivation of the add button 900 in the M-channel page of FIG. 9A.

The content management site of the system 10 in the illustrativeembodiment thus allows a user to manage content for access via themobile devices 15 by interaction with one or more specified M-channels.As indicated above, a user selects a particular M-channel by activatingthe corresponding link 808 in FIG. 8. This action instantiates asubordinate user interface to the selected M-Channel, represented by thepage shown in FIG. 9A. The user then activates the add button 900 ofFIG. 9A, which instantiates a subordinate user interface to an authoringwizard associated with that M-channel, represented by the page shown inFIG. 10.

FIG. 11 shows an example page for use in managing a contact listassociated with one or more of the M-channels. This page may beaccessed, for example, from the main menu page 300.

FIG. 12 shows an example page for use in adding a new contact to thecontact list of FIG. 11. This page may be accessed, for example, byactivating an “add an item” button in the page of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 shows an example page for use in creating a new mobile site.This page may be accessed, for example, by activating the “build newsite” link 708 in the start page of FIG. 7. The mobile site creationpage includes fields allowing a user to name the mobile site, to specifya URL for the mobile site, and to enter a description of the mobilesite.

FIG. 14 shows an example page for use in establishing or updating a useraccount with the system. This page may be accessed, for example, as partof a registration process initiated by activating the link associatedwith block 104 in FIG. 1D, or by activating the link associated withblock 228 of the start page in FIG. 2.

FIG. 15 shows an example page of member list results generated byperforming a search in the member directory of the content managementsite. The directory may be accessed, for example, by activating the linkassociated with block 110 in FIG. 1D or the link associated with block208 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 16 shows an example page for automated response management. Thispage may be accessed, for example, from the main menu page 300.

FIGS. 17A and 17B show example pages corresponding to a useridentification card or business card, also referred to herein as anM-card, or part of a contact M-channel. Such pages may be accessed, forexample, by activating links associated with blocks 218 in FIG. 2 or 528in FIG. 5.

Exemplary mobile site pages will now be described in greater detail withreference to FIGS. 18, 24 and 25.

FIG. 18 shows an example mobile device 15-1 suitable for use in thesystem of FIG. 1A. The mobile device 15-1 in this example is in the formof a web-enabled mobile telephone, but as indicated previously herein,the invention does not require the use of any particular type orconfiguration of mobile device. The mobile device 15-1 as shown in FIG.18 includes a display screen 1800 on which an example screenshotassociated with a mobile site main menu page is shown. This screenshotmay correspond, for example, to a portion of the page 400 previouslydescribed in conjunction with FIG. 4. Additional example screenshotsthat may be viewed as being generally associated with the mobile sitemain menu page 400 or the mobile site page 500 are shown in FIGS.24A-24G and FIGS. 25A-250.

The operation of certain aspects of the system 10 of FIG. 1A will now bedescribed with reference to the flow diagrams of FIGS. 19 through 23.

FIG. 19 shows an example registration process (R) accessible via thecontent management site. A user enters the registration process at step1900, and is prompted to create a user name and password in step 1902,to provide account information that includes a variety of personalinformation such as first name, last name, date of birth and gender instep 1904, to provide mobile phone information in step 1906, and toprovide a variety of location information such as zip code, state,country and time zone in step 1908. The entered information establishesa personal profile for the user, and is stored in a memory or otherstorage device associated with the content management site.

In step 1910, the user reviews legal information pertaining to the useof the content management site and its terms of service. Step 1912determines whether the user is of the requisite age to use the site,step 1914 determines if the user accepts specified terms and conditions,step 1916 determines if the submitted information will be accepted ordeclined, and step 1918 determines if valid information has beensubmitted. A negative determination in any of steps 1912, 1914 and 1918results in the process returning to step 1900 to allow the user to makeat least one more registration attempt. A negative determination in step1916 terminates the registration process and returns the user to thehome page (HP) from which the registration process was initiated, asindicated at 1930.

After positive determinations in steps 1912, 1914, 1916 and 1918, adatabase entry is created for the user in step 1920, a user URL andredirect file are created in step 1922, a welcoming email is sent to theuser in step 1924, and the registration is completed in step 1926. Atthis point, a user may be permitted to build a mobile site, as indicatedby the transition to the site building indicator (B).

Referring now to FIG. 20, an example login process (L) accessible viathe content management site is shown. A user enters a login page at step2000, and is requested at step 2002 to confirm that he or she is a“member,” i.e., that he or she is already registered with the system. Ifthe user is not registered, a link to the registration process (R)described previously and depicted in FIG. 19 is activated. Otherwise,step 2004 determines if the user has forgotten his or her password. Ifthis is the case, steps 2006 through 2012 are executed to prompt theuser to enter a user name, and/or other identifying information, and toclick a send button, such that an email containing the forgottenpassword is then sent to the user, after which the process returns tostep 2000. A negative determination in step 2004 results in execution ofsteps 2014 through 2018, prompting the user to enter a user name andpassword, to select an area of the content management site to start in,and to click a button to submit the login information. Step 2020determines if the submitted login information is correct. If it is, theprocess ends, and the user can be directed, for example, to the homepage (HP), the directory (D), the start page (SP), or to any otherdesired page of the site. The resulting presented page is preferablycustomized to include information specific to the user, such as theinformation shown generally at 702 in FIG. 7.

If the login information entered by the user is incorrect, the processmay return to step 2000 so that correct or more current logininformation may be submitted. While in some embodiments of the inventionthese verification steps could be repeated indefinitely, it ispreferable to place a limit on the number of times that the system willcontinue to attempt such verification without success, after which thelogin process will end and no further submissions of login informationwill be accepted from that user until some specified remedial actiontakes place. Similar restrictions may be placed on repetition of theregistration process previously described in conjunction with FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 shows an example process for creating a mobile site using thecontent management site. This process may be accessed, for example, uponcompletion of the registration process, or upon activation of the linkassociated with block 226 of FIG. 2. After initiation of the mobile sitecreation process in step 2100, the user is prompted in step 2102 toenter a site title, in step 2104 to enter a site URL, in 2106 to enter asite description, in step 2108 to enter a category, and in step 2110 toenter keywords. Steps 2102 to 2110 should be viewed as examples of thetype of information a registered user could be asked to enter in orderto create the mobile site, but a given mobile site in accordance withthe invention can of course be created using other types of information.

Step 2112 determines if the submitted information is to be saved orcanceled. The latter results in the process being directed to the homepage (HP), the start page (SP), or other specified page of the contentmanagement site. If the submitted information is to be saved, step 2114determines if the submitted information is valid. If the submittedinformation is not valid, the process returns to step 2100 to allow theuser at least one additional attempt to create the mobile site. Apositive determination in step 2114 results in the execution of contentand/or data device formatting step 2116, database entry creation step2118, and site URL and redirect file creation step 2120. The URL is usedto access the mobile site that is created as a result of the FIG. 21process.

Step 2122 represents the start of an M-channel selection wizard. Fromthe M-channel selection wizard step, the user can choose a template,task and/or goal in step 2124, choose appropriate fields in step 2126,and select desired options in step 2130. At this point, the processgenerates the appropriate rules for the display engine in step 2132, andthen activates or otherwise generates one or more M-channels for themobile site in step 2134. The result is a site specific M-channel listas indicated in step 2146, an example of which was previously describedin conjunction with the screenshot of FIG. 8. Supplementary to thisportion of the process, the user is also provided with an opportunity insteps 2136, 2138, 2140, 2142 and 2144 of FIG. 21 to add additionalM-channels, options, external services, and the like to the mobile site.Any such added elements are taken into account in generating the sitespecific M-channel list in step 2146. At the completion of step 2146,the process returns to the main menu (MM), from which the M-channelwizard step 2122 can again be initiated to further modify thepreviously-created mobile site.

Turning now to FIG. 22, an example process for content authoring at thecontent management site is shown. The user in step 2202 selects aparticular M-channel for which the content is to be authored. Step 2204generates an M-channel content list, and step 2206 allows the status ofthe various content items to be changed from published to unpublishedand vice-versa. Steps 2208 and 2210 allow content items on the M-channelcontent list to be erased. From the M-channel content list generated instep 2204, an item authoring wizard may be initiated in step 2212. Thiswizard facilitates the authoring of a content item by prompting the userto enter date and time in step 2214, to enter a title in step 2216, toenter message content, data template or both in step 2218, to select orupload media in step 2220, to select distribution, delivery and serviceoptions in step 2224, and to select publishing options in step 2226.

Selectable or uploadable media may include, for example, an XML/RSSfeed, a database entry, a syndication item, a document, a video, aphoto, a graphic, a music file, etc. Distribution, delivery and serviceoptions may include, for example, a distribution list based on group(s)or individual(s), SMS delivery, MMS delivery, email delivery, WAPavailability, syndication availability, particular content to becombined or otherwise integrated with the content item upon delivery,etc. The publishing options may specify launch date, expiration date,private, public, group-specific, etc.

Step 2230 determines if a save button or a cancel button has beenactivated. Activation of the cancel button returns the process to theM-channel content list in step 2204. Activation of the save buttoncauses formatting of the message content and/or data device in step2232. Step 2234 determines if media has been selected for upload. If so,the selected media is uploaded in step 2236. In any case, step 2238 thendetermines if distribution, delivery and service options have been set.A positive determination results in the setting of the distribution,delivery and service options in step 2240. The process then proceeds tostep 2242, in which the generated content item and its associatedsettings are saved, preferably by storage in a database or other memoryor storage device of the system, as indicated at 2244. The process thenreturns to the M-channel content list in step 2202.

Step 2246 initiates a distribution, delivery and service engine whichsends the content item out to a rules-based display engine in step 2250which then, driven by the options previously selected in steps 2224 and2226, handles the presentation of the content in a manner appropriate tothe mobile devices 15 on which it is to be viewed. The distribution,delivery and service engine may also take into account one or moreexternal services 2248 as indicated. The display engine further providesappropriate interaction mechanisms consistent with the content and itsassociated options. In addition, alerts and/or other messages can besent out in step 2252 based on options selected in step 2224 fornotifying the recipient(s) that the content item is now available foraccess via the mobile site. The M-channel content list, and morespecifically the item view associated with the particular content item,are updated as appropriate, in steps 2254 and 2256.

FIG. 23 shows an example directory process that may be implemented atthe content management site. The directory process is initiated in step2302, and in step 2304 permits a user to go directly to another user,which may result in the retrieval at step 2306 of the identificationcard or business card, also referred to herein as an M-card, of theother user. It is also possible in step 2314 to perform a member search,which may include specifying in steps 2316, 2318 and 2320 the respectivebeginning, containing or ending parameters of the member name. Thisleads to a member results list in step 2321 that can be used to retrieveone or more M-cards in step 2306. Another option is to view a memberlist, as indicated in step 2322, from which the user can select a letterand/or a number, leading again to a member results list in step 2321.The M-cards retrieved in step 2306 can be used to provide user profileinformation in step 2308, to view a mobile site or sites associated withthe corresponding user(s) in step 2310, or to call via direct dial orotherwise the corresponding user(s) in step 2312. The direct dial callmay be placed to a phone (P) or any other device capable ofparticipating in a voice or data call.

It is also possible from the directory step 2302 to initiate a sitesearch in step 2330, which may include specifying in steps 2332, 2334and 2336 the respective beginning, containing or ending parameters ofthe desired site. This leads to a site results list in step 2338 thatcan be used to retrieve one or more user mobile sites in step 2340.Other mobile site directory functions include generation of a site listin step 2350, leading to user selection of a letter and/or a number instep 2352, generation of site categories in step 2360, leading to userselection of a category in step 2362, and generation of keywords in step2370, leading to user entry of a particular keyword or keywords in step2372. Each of these functions results in generation of a site resultslist in step 2338, from which a user mobile site can be accessed in step2340.

It is to be appreciated that the processes and their associated steps asdescribed in conjunction with the operational flow diagrams of FIGS. 19through 23 are merely exemplary, and the invention does not require theparticular steps shown, or their particular order of execution.

The above-described illustrative embodiment of the invention provides anumber of significant advantages relative to conventional techniques.

For example, the system 10 as described herein is advantageous in thatit can be used to allow content providers to cost-effectively publish,distribute and generate revenue from a mobile content service.

Also, the system provides a platform for the development of a widevariety of personalized content applications for users of mobiledevices, thereby allowing wireless network service providers not only toincrease their subscriber base, but also to reduce turnover in theirsubscriber base.

Furthermore, the invention allows users to more efficiently communicate,collaborate and otherwise interact with their friends or colleaguesinstantly and seamlessly within a single system that provides a mobileweb site integrating existing wireless networking functionalities, suchas IM, SMS, MMS, location-based services, or email, with personallyauthored content.

Yet another advantage of the system described in conjunction with theillustrative embodiment is that it does not require users to downloadand install any particular client-side software. The generation of agiven mobile site and the management of the content associated therewithis driven in the illustrative embodiment from the content managementsite at the server side of the system, accessible via a standardbrowser. The system is configured to operate independently of the userdevice operating system or other user device configuration parameters,such that a given user may author, create, publish, send, convey, share,receive, respond to, subscribe to, collaborate with, track, transact,maintain and manage personalized messaging content from any type of userdevice running any operating system.

It should again be emphasized that the illustrative embodiment asdescribed above is presented by way of example only, and should not beconstrued as limiting in any way. Numerous alternative embodimentswithin the scope of the appended claims will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for managing information content in anetwork-based communication system, the method comprising the steps of:providing a first web-based interface accessible to a first user, thefirst web-based interface being configured to permit the first user toactivate a given mobile information channel for sharing content betweenthe first user and one or more additional users; and generating a secondweb-based interface different than the first web-based interface,wherein the second web-based interface provides each of the one or moreadditional users access to at least a portion of the shared content viathe given mobile information channel to thereby facilitate interactionbetween the first user and the one or more additional users; wherein thegiven mobile information channel supports messaging between the firstuser and the one or more additional users over a wireless network; andwherein the mobile information channel is configured to permit the firstuser to send messaging content to the one or more additional users andto receive messaging content from the one or more additional users. 2.The method of claim 1 wherein the first web-based interface isconfigured to permit the first user to designate accessibility rulescontrolling access of said one or more additional users to respectiveportions of the shared content.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein thefirst web-based interface comprises a content management web site andthe second web-based interface comprises a mobile web site accessibleindependently of the content management web site via one or more mobiledevices.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first web-based interfaceis configured to permit the first user to selectively specify a firstportion of said shared content as having a published status and a secondportion of said shared content as having an unpublished status, andwherein the second web-based interface provides said one or moreadditional users with access to the first portion of said shared contentthat the first user has specified in the first web-based interface ashaving the published status and does not provide said one or moreadditional users with access to the second portion of said sharedcontent that the first user has specified in the first web-basedinterface as having the unpublished status.
 5. The method of claim 1wherein the shared content comprises a plurality of content items andthe first web-based interface is configured to permit the first user toselectively specify one of a published status and an unpublished statusfor each of said content items, the second web-based interface providingaccess to those of the content items that the first user has specifiedin the first web-based interface as having the published status and notproviding access to those of the content items that the first user hasspecified in the first web-based interface as having the unpublishedstatus.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first web-based interfaceis identified by a first uniform resource locator and the secondweb-based interface is identified by a second uniform resource locatordifferent than the first uniform resource locator.
 7. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the shared content is obtained from a device-captureddata source of the first user, said device-captured data sourcecomprising a source of at least one of device-captured video data,device-captured image data, device-captured audio data anddevice-captured location coordinates.
 8. The method of claim 1 whereinthe first web-based interface permits the first user to upload at leastone information item, and wherein the second web-based interfaceprovides said one or more additional users with access to said at leastone uploaded information item in accordance with accessibility rulesestablished by the first user via the first web-based interface.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the one or more additional users compriseindividuals that with the first user and by mutual consent collectivelycomprise a group of members that have access to at least a portion ofsaid shared content via the second web-based interface.
 10. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereinexecutable code of one or more software programs for use in managinginformation content in a network-based communication system, whereinsaid executable program code when executed by a processing element ofthe communication system implements the steps of the method of claim 1.11. An apparatus for use in managing information content in anetwork-based communication system, the apparatus comprising: aprocessing element comprising a processor coupled to a memory; theprocessing element providing at least a portion of a first web-basedinterface accessible to a first user, the first web-based interfacebeing configured to permit the first user to activate a given mobileinformation channel for sharing content between the first user and oneor more additional users; the processing element generating a secondweb-based interface different than the first web-based interface,wherein the second web-based interface provides each of the one or moreadditional users access to at least a portion of the shared content viathe given mobile information channel to thereby facilitate interactionbetween the first user and the one or more additional users; wherein thegiven mobile information channel supports messaging between the firstuser and the one or more additional users over a wireless network; andwherein the mobile information channel is configured to permit the firstuser to send messaging content to the one or more additional users andto receive messaging content from the one or more additional users. 12.The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the first web-based interface isconfigured to permit the first user to designate accessibility rulescontrolling access of said one or more additional users to respectiveportions of the shared content.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11 whereinthe processing element comprises at least one server.
 14. The apparatusof claim 13 wherein the server is accessible over the Internet via anetwork interface.
 15. A network-based communication system, comprising:a plurality of servers configured to communicate over a network; atleast one of the servers providing at least a portion of a firstweb-based interface accessible to a first user, the first web-basedinterface being configured to permit the first user to activate a givenmobile information channel for sharing content between the first userand one or more additional users; wherein said at least one servergenerates a second web-based interface different than the firstweb-based interface, wherein the second web-based interface provideseach of the one or more additional users access to at least a portion ofthe shared content via the given mobile information channel to therebyfacilitate interaction between the first user and the one or moreadditional users; wherein the given mobile information channel supportsmessaging between the first user and the one or more additional usersover a wireless network; and wherein the mobile information channel isconfigured to permit the first user to send messaging content to the oneor more additional users and to receive messaging content from the oneor more additional users.
 16. The method of claim 1 further comprisingmaintaining a contact list for the given mobile information channel, thecontact list comprising the one or more additional users.
 17. The methodof claim 1 further comprising distributing advertising content to theone or more additional users via the given mobile information channel.18. The method of claim 17 wherein distributing advertising contentcomprises inserting advertising content along with messaging content inthe given mobile information channel.
 19. The method of claim 1 whereinthe second web-based interface is configured to provide at least aportion of the shared content to the one or more additional usersutilizing one of a short message service (SMS) and a multimedia messageservice (MMS).
 20. The method of claim 1 wherein the given mobileinformation channel comprises a chat channel.
 21. The method of claim 1wherein the messaging content comprises personalized messaging contentfor the first user.
 22. The method of claim 21 wherein the given mobileinformation channel integrates location-based service information of thewireless network with the personalized messaging content.
 23. The methodof claim 1 wherein the messaging content comprises at least one of animage, a video, a short message service (SMS) message and a multimediamessage service (MMS) message.
 24. The method of claim 1 wherein themessaging content comprises at least one of announcements, notes,surveys, promotions and contests.
 25. The method of claim 1 wherein atleast a portion of the shared content is authored by the first user. 26.The method of claim 1 wherein the first web-based interface isconfigured to allow the first user to title the given mobile informationchannel.
 27. A method comprising: generating a given mobile informationchannel for sharing content authored by a first user with one or moreadditional users; and providing each of the one or more additional usersaccess to at least a portion of the shared content via the given mobileinformation channel to facilitate interaction between the first andadditional users; wherein the given mobile information channel supportsmessaging between the first user and the one or more additional usersover a wireless network; and wherein the mobile information channel isconfigured to permit the first user to send messaging content to the oneor more additional users and to receive messaging content from the oneor more additional users.